"The man behind the slumdogs and slums"

'The man behind the slumdogs and slums'.

Your cartoonist 'Manjul' deserves an Oscar for the Politickle, " ..And the Oscar goes to the man behind all the slumdogs and slums ...." (DNA,22/2). Yesterday, the Congress spokesman has claimed it ! Moreover, there is some poetic justice in the Oscars that Indian themes have won accolades – Gandhi of Sir Richard Attenborough and Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle. Both belong to Great Britain which colonised and impoverished India.

This is not to say our politicians are less responsible for the poverty and slums. Just yesterday a report states that BMC has submitted a list of 89 cases of illegal hutments promoted by officials, slumlords and politicians in 2008 to the state-appointed Committee for the Prevention of Slums. Mahatma Gandhi promoted khadi and village industries to provide work in our villages. However, after Independence, villages and agriculture were neglected and villagers came to towns and cities to seek work. This is the genesis of slums. People flock to cities as there is no work, no medical facility and no education. If the government provides these essentials, people would go back to villages. That is what our Past President Abdul Kalam has been advocating – providing urban facilities in rural areas.

February 24,2009.

****

Are secularists secular ?

Are secularists secular ?

R.Jagannathan has to be commended for shedding ample light on the conspiracy of silence maintained by the so-called liberals in the country to the communalism displayed by some of the fundamentalists among the minorities in his above article (DNA,19/2/2008). This distorted secularism has brought disrepute the concept of secularism. Discussion and debate are the essence of democracy and secularism. If that is punished, it would corrode both democracy and secularism.

If we are really a secular state, why temple trusts such as Siddhi Vinayak Temple Trust are in the hands of the government ? Why only Haj pilgrimage is being subsidised ? Why special reservations and funds for minorities ? Our distorted secularism has created more rift among our people instead of bridging the gulf between the communities. Secularism means no discrimination based on religion. True secularism requires that the state does not interfere with religion and religion does not interfere with the state – sarva dharma samabhava ( equal respect for all religions).

February 22,2008.

*****

 

Funds not used - Who is accountable ?

Funds not used – who is accountable ?

It is shocking that BMC would be using only 50% of the allotted funds on various developmental projects during the current fiscal year (DNA,2/2/09). Who should be held responsible for this lapse ? Municipal Commissioner and his staff ( who are supposed to be the planners and executors) and the Corporators ( who are supposed to be the representatives and guardians of the City). This highlights the need for citizens to take up the issue with BMC and the State Government.

We have to create a mechanism to monitor the allocation and its execution. It would be a good idea to have a citizen's penal for each ward for this purpose – a penal of five people from among the NGOs, corporates and the professionals whose mandate would be to supervise developmental activities on behalf of the citizens. This panel can identify developmental activities needed in the area. The corporators and the municipal administration seem to be ineffective. People should not be deprived of development because of the red-tape and corruption when there are enough tax revenues. Let all NGOs and Chambers of Commerce ask all the political parties to include this in their manifestos and should be part of the municipal law.

People have to be vigilant, whether it is internal security or developmental security.

February 2,2009.